


Insulted

by kittykat2892



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dalish Problems, Gen, Growing feelings, He's A Jackass, Human Cole, I'm Not Good at Tags Like This, Lavellan Doesn't Appreciate It, Light Angst, Lightning Mage, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Self Confidence, That One Guy in the Courtyard, The One Who Insults the Inquisitor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3567152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittykat2892/pseuds/kittykat2892
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inquisitor Lavellan doesn't appreciate slander. She also hates liars. So why is there a shem in the middle of Skyhold calling her a heathen? Lucky for him that Cole was around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insulted

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't know if this happens for Inquisitors of other races, but I know as I was playing my Lavellan that I ran across a human and a dwarf having a conversation about her race. I really wished I could butt into their conversation and tell the human off, but no dice. So here's how my Nimale would have reacted.

Cole found his lacking ability to perceive a person's emotions disconcerting. Ever since Nimale and Varric helped him start becoming more human, he continued experiencing new, and sometimes terrifying, emotions. For instance, the strange gurgling in his stomach whenever the Inquisitor came to check on him in his hidey-hole had never been more pronounced than after their visit to Redcliffe. Cole, while childlike in many aspects concerning his innocence to the workings of humans, knew that people often associated such strange feelings to growing attachment. He tried to deny what was happening, and he almost succeeded.  


Until the day he felt Nimale's emotions, as clear as if he were still a spirit, flash across his thoughts.  


Even considering how fast he could move, Cole worried he wouldn't reach Nimale in time to help. Anger and shame battered against his mind, rising and crashing like the waves on the Storm Coast. He hoped the person on the other side of Nimale Lavellan's wrath knew to hide.  


Nimale stood in the middle of Skyhold's courtyard near the merchants, her violet eyes piercing into the back of a man's head. Cole's confusion lanced through Nimale's heightened emotions until his ears caught scraps of the human's conversation. The dwarf he spoke to looked uncomfortable, his eyes twitching between his companion and Nimale.  


“A Dalish elf is the Inquisitor? Better we throw ourselves into the Breach than trust our lives to one of those heathens.”  


“Inquisitor Lavellan has done more for Thedas than you give her credit for.”  


Cole was relieved to hear the dwarf protecting his friend, and he felt Nimale's emotions settle a little at those words.  


“It's a trick. Probably wants to play the hero and then, bam, her heathen clans rush over Thedas and butcher us all.” The human smacked his hands together, his voice growing in volume.  


The merchants and nearby loiterers began to take notice. The Orlesians, trained to be discreet, barely seemed to acknowledge the going-ons, though Cole felt their curiosity. The merchants watched in fascination, one grinning and elbowing a soldier in the side, betting on how long until Nimale scorched the insulter. The soldiers and recruits appeared murderous, their eyes flashing as they listened to a newcomer sully their leader's honor.  


“Do you even hear yourself?” The dwarf's annoyance grew with each tense passing moment.  


Only the human failed to realize his danger. Cole saw the lightning dancing between Nimale's fingers, as it always did in moments of extreme emotion, felt the faint brush of the Fade responding to her anger. The air crackled, like the sky before a lightning bolt struck.  


“I do. Maybe the rest of this lot should hear me, too. They're all being bamboozled, confused, and misled. Mark my words, the heathen wench'll turn on us. Kill us all in our sleep.”  


Cole caught Nimale's hand in his own before she could cast her spell. His cold fingers linked between her warm and clammy ones, dispelling the lightning with a sharp shock to Cole's skin. She whirled around, a snarled response on her lips that died when she met Cole's gentle look.  


“He's not worth it. Pathetic, pointless, posturing.” His voice lowered as he recited a string of thoughts he would never think himself. . “I've lost it all and one of those knife-ears has been given everything. I'll show her, I will.”  


Tension still sizzled through the air. Everyone felt it, their hair standing on end as they waited to see what their Inquisitor would do. Nimale glared at Cole, her emotions soaring until they disappeared so fast, Cole felt his mind reel. As they dispersed, Nimale's shoulders sagged, the confidence leaving her watery eyes. Theirs hands were still entwined, so Cole gently led his companion away from the human. He made a mental note, however, to pay the man a visit later to tell him how close he came to being charbroiled.  


Iron Bull, Krem, and Sera noticed the two enter the bar. The Chargers members watched Cole lead Nimale upstairs, Bull's eyes meeting Cole's and silently promising he'd be up there at the first sign of trouble. Sera wrinkled her nose upon seeing the spirit-turned-human, worry flitting through her eyes at seeing Nimale so out of it.  


Silence pursued even after Cole helped Nimale sit in his corner of the third floor. He sat next to her, keeping her hand in his. Flashes of her thoughts assured him that she appreciated the contact, felt as though he was grounding her, her thoughts, and her actions.  


“Why are you helping me?”  


Cole couldn't remember if he'd ever heard Nimale sound so broken. “Because you're hurting and I want to fix it.”  


Nimale's lips twitched, but the rare smile Cole enjoyed seeing didn't make an appearance. “I'm surprised that you want to fix my hurts.”  


“Why wouldn't I?”  


The warmth that faded when Nimale broke contact with Cole's hand as she stood brought a sweeping sensation of loss and a need to reconnect. Nimale avoided the boy's eyes, staring into the shadowed corners.  


After a few moments, only a pained smile answered him. She disappeared before Cole could read her emotions.

* * * 

The next day, Nimale approached the same man, who was, once again, speaking badly of her. She sensed Cole as he kept to the shadows, watching and waiting. Cullen stood on the stairs, leaning against the wall. Even Blackwall watched Nimale's approach from the recesses of the stables.  


“And another thing—”  


“Oi. Shem.” Nimale put as much conviction in her voice as she could, tapping the human on the shoulder. He whirled around, anger creasing his brow at the elven insult, until he realized the person he faced.  


“Oh,” he breathed, wilting immediately under Nimale's furious gaze.  


“Why are you in Skyhold, shem?”  


“My lands, in Redcliffe, they were burnt to the ground. Demons and mages.” His voice wavered, his eyes flicking between hers and her feet. “It's the only safe place I knew about.”  


“And is it customary for you shemlen to insult the owner of your sanctuary?” Nimale crossed her arms, her fingers digging into her skin as she refrained from frying him on the spot.  


“No, ma'am.”  


“Then is it wise to insult a mage, let alone a Dalish elf, in Redcliffe?”  


A shake of his head answered since fear tightened his throat.  


“Explain the insults I have been hearing from you then.”  


No answer was forthcoming. The man just shifted uncomfortably, wringing his hands and tapping his foot.  


Nimale leaned in, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. She noticed Cullen and Blackwall move closer from her peripheral vision, but she ignored them. “The next time I hear an insult about me, my allies, or the Inquisition, I will fry you right where you stand.” She lifted her hand, showing the terrified man the lightning that crackled between her fingers. “I'm usually accepting of your people, even willing to work with them here and offer advice, but I will not suffer lies. Not when I'm giving everything I have to saving pathetic cowards like you.” She shoved him away, wrinkling her nose at the tears in his eyes, and turned her back to him.  


Cullen retreated upon seeing Nimale walk away. Blackwall approached the sniveling man, speaking in undertones. Cole, however, followed the Inquisitor up the stairs, a soft look in his eyes. Despite what anyone else said, he knew that Nimale would break one day. Everyone did, and it was a harder fall the longer a person held up their mask. He only hoped he was there and able to help when she broke.


End file.
